Legally Romance Review

I wasn’t planning to watch Legally Romance (才不要和老板谈恋爱) but the many positive reviews online made me change my mind. The 2 male leads don’t really capture my interest which was why I initially decided to put this on the back burner. But luckily my curiosity got the better of me and I took the plunge to watch it. And I’m glad I did because it is surprisingly funny and interesting. That is how it is with Chinese dramas at times. What you thought is good can be bad and vice-versa. Anyway, my Legally Romance review and verdict are detailed on the lower half of this post. As usual, you can check out the cast, synopsis, and ending too.

My rating: 7.5/10
Episodes: 33
Type: Romance
Aired: March 2022
Images Credit: WeTV Twitter

The Cast Of Legally Romance

• Huang Zi Tao as Lu Xun
• Song Zu Er as Qian Wei
• Garvey Jin as Li Chong Wen
• Zhong Li Li as Mo Zi Xin / Xiao Xin
• Li Bai Hui as Liu Shi Yun
• Yan An as Qian Chuan
• Hong Jian Tao as Qian Yan Ping
• Tao Hui Min as Lu Zheng Tong
• Li Yi as Yu Tian
• Jin Feng as Lan He

Main Characters

Lu Xun

Lu Xun is a hotshot lawyer who has never lost a case. He is also a partner in the law firm. He can be arrogant and a hard taskmaster as a boss. Lu Xun and Qian Wei used to be peers at university but she is now his assistant. His father is a judge while his mother is a doctor.

Qian Wei

Qian Wei is 28 years old and is still a paralegal working under Lu Xun. She is a capable and knowledgeable legal officer but has not been able to pass her judicial entrance examination to be a qualified lawyer. Qian Wei is an energetic and feisty woman with ideals.

Supporting Characters

Li Chong Wen

Chong Wen is Qian Wei’s senior in university as well as boyfriend. He has just been promoted to be the Legal Director in AES Group. He comes from a poor background but is ambitious.

Mo Zi Xin / Xiao Xin

Xiao Xin is Qian Wei’s good friend and dorm mate while in university. She is an astute share trader and investor as her father is known as a finance specialist. Xiao Xin is a pretty girl who is soft-spoken and gentle. She has known Lu Xun since they were young.

Liu Shi Yun

Shi Yun is also Qian Wei’s dorm mate and best friend. She is rough and expressive rather than demure like how a girl should be. Although she is a law student, her first love is music and she is into rock and roll.

Qian Chuan

Qian Chuan is Qian Wei’s younger twin brother. He is a sports student and swimmer at university. He often bickers with his sister but they do share a close bond. Generally, Qian Chuan is a fun guy. He also has a crush on Xiao Xin.

Qian Yan Ping & Lu Zheng Tong

They are Qian Wei and Qian Chuan’s parents. Both Mr. & Mrs. Qian are good parents with a close relationship with their children. They are also a loving couple with a deep love for each other.

Yu Tian

Yu Tian is Chong Wen’s peer in university. They are both studying law and leading members of the debating team.

Lan He

Lan He is the daughter of a tycoon who owns AES Group. She has just returned from abroad to be part of the company’s management.

Synopsis

Qian Wei has been practicing law for 7 years but is still a paralegal as she has yet to pass the National Judicial Examination to qualify as a lawyer. Her father died on the day she was supposed to sit for the exam a couple of years back and that has become a psychological barrier for her. Her boss is Lu Xun who has become the youngest partner in the law firm they are working at. Lu Xun was her peer at university and they used to compete aggressively on all fronts then. However, she always came up second best behind him and their bickering has continued to this day.

Qian Wei sees Lu Xun as a terrible boss akin to a slave driver. Hence, she is always cursing him behind his back. With her career going nowhere, things become even worse when she lost the evidence for the case they are working on. Qian Wei decides to quit although Lu Xun tries to talk her out of it. Then, she learns that her boyfriend has been using her to get information on a case whereby they are on opposing sides. She breaks up with him and it is during these trying times that she falls into a manhole while slightly drunk.

Qian Wei finds herself underwater and when she reaches for the ring that has loosen from her finger, she is transported back to her first year at university. She decides then to change her fate and alter some of the decisions that she has made previously which have affected her present life. But when Qian Wei relives her university life, she discovers a different side to Lu Xun which surprises her.

Legally Romance Ending (Spoilers Alert!)

Legally Romance has a happy ending. The ending scene is actually after the credits. Hence, just remember to wait for the last bit to get a complete closure to the story. A few years after their wedding, the 2 couples have a set of twins each. Qian Wei and Lu Xun have twins boys while Shi Yun and Qian Chuan have twin girls.

On her wedding day, Qian Wei actually got nervous after she had a premonition that she would be saddled with babies. Shi Yun gave her that idea that she might have twins due to genetic factors. Qian Wei ran away from the wedding venue and wanted to go to the hospital to do a rehab so that she could peek into the future again. But Lu Xun noticed that and hid in the car as the driver. Then, he simply drove her away for an adventure together. With the main couple missing from the venue, Qian Chuan suggested to Shi Yun that they take Lu Xun’s and Qian Wei’s place instead and get married.

Is Qian Wei In A Parallel Universe?

Technically, no. Qian Wei fell into a manhole which has an underground well beneath it. She also suffered head injuries and ended up in a coma for a month. While she was in a coma, she dreamt of her past whereby she felt she was reliving her university life. Thus, all the events from Episode 2 up to Episode 23 when she awakened were occurring in her dream. Although she may not have experienced all of them, the doctor explained that she could have been told of the events while she was asleep to stimulate her brain.

That is why Qian Wei knew all the things that Lu Xun had done for her back then. She suspected he could have told her because his name appeared on the visitor list on a daily basis while she was in a coma. She found this out in Episode 24.

Did Qian Wei Manage To Change Her Life?

As Qian Wei was only dreaming while she was in a coma, nothing actually changed in the real world. All she was doing was reliving her life 10 years ago in her dream. With the benefit of hindsight and experience, she simply made different choices compared to the past which she believed could improve her future since she was highly dissatisfied with her life as a 28 -year-old.

Most of the events in Qian Wei’s dream also happened in her real life a decade ago. But because of the different actions and decisions she took in her dream, Qian Wei could see certain things which escaped her previously such as Lu Xun’s feelings for her. Basically, she has no power to change her life in the real world. But the dream enlightened her and made her come to terms with her past such as her father’s death.

That is why when Qian Wei got out of her coma, things were as before. But she had learned something from her dream which then propelled her into action such as getting Lu Xun to admit his feelings for her and sitting for her judicial exam to qualify as a lawyer.

When Did They Start Dating?

In the dream world, Qian Wei and Lu Xun got together in Episode 13 and their relationship became public knowledge in Episode 14. Lu Xun was more direct in Qian Wei’s dream and asked her to be his girlfriend during a debate. They were a happy couple until he read her diary and found out that she was from the future in Episode 23. Lu Xun was disappointed and sad as he felt that Qian Wei was merely using him as a tool to change her fate and gain success in life. When Qian Wei rushed to Lu Xun’s place to explain her feelings for him, she was trapped in the lift which subsequently plunges. That jolted her awake from her coma.

Once Qian Wei reawakened, she found things were still the same. Lu Xun was still her boss and refused to admit that he has feelings for her. They continued to bicker and she tried to instigate him to confess. Lu Xun finally did so in Episode 29 when he saw Chong Wen approaching her. He admitted to all the things that he had done for her while in university. They became a couple in the real world then with no break ups thereafter.

Lu Xun proposed to Qian Wei in Episode 32. But she complained that he tricked her into wearing the ring. He prepared another proposal as per her wish later on but it was abandoned as he had to rush to save her in Episode 33. Nevertheless, they still did get married after the villains were caught and imprisoned.

Why Lu Xun Kept His Feelings Hidden

Lu Xun did arrange for a confession while they were students in Episode 11. But Chong Wen found out about Lu Xun’s plan and beat him to it. After Chong Wen and Qian Wei got together, Lu Xun continued to hide his feelings for her as he felt that she didn’t like him.

When Qian Wei was jolted awake from her coma with a sense of panic, she impulsively hugged the man beside her whom she thought was Lu Xun. But it turned out to be Chong Wen and Lu Xun saw what she did from the doorway. In Episode 27, Lu Xun told his boss that he’d rather hide his feelings for Qian Wei because he didn’t want her pity. He didn’t want her to be with him because of the things he did for her. Instead, Lu Xun wished that Qian Wei would love him on her own accord.

Furthermore, he thought that Qian Wei still has feelings for Chong Wen and he would appear miserable in front of her if he confessed. His strong pride and ego prevented him from admitting his feelings for her.

Is There A Love Triangle?

In Qian Wei’s dream, Chong Wen also pursued her but she avoided him. He confessed in Episode 11 but she rejected him. Qian Wei told Chong Wen that she had loved him before in another universe and sacrificed her dreams and youth to be with him but was left heartbroken. In Episode 19, he tried to propose to her but she declined. She revealed to him she came from the future and didn’t want to repeat the same mistake of the past. Hence, even if there is no Lu Xun, she wouldn’t choose him again.

Back to the present, Chong Wen wanted to reconcile with Qian Wei and proposed to her in Episode 24. But she rejected him and cited their incompatibility and differing ideals. She also told him that they can’t go back to the past although she understood his situation and struggles back then which she only got to know through her dream.

Zi Xin also had feelings for Lu Xun but he had already rejected her very early on. However, neither of them clarified the matter and let everyone assumed that it was Zi Xin who rejected him. Lu Xun kept quiet to protect Zi Xin’s dignity while she did so because of pride. In the dream world, Zi Xin told Qian Wei the truth for the sake of their friendship in Episode 14.

In the real world, Zi Xin made Qian Wei worried and jealous when she approached Lu Xun for legal advice in Episode 26. She apologized to Qian Wei for the misunderstanding and assured her that she had already let go of her feelings for Lu Xun in Episode 29.

What Happened To Chong Wen?

In the real world, Chong Wen and Qian Wei had already separated for 4 years when the drama begins. He had gone abroad to work for Lan He whose family owned the AES Group. His poor background and need for money to pay off his father’s debts pushed him into sacrificing his ideals. When he returned, Qian Wei broke up with him because she found out that they were on opposing sides in a legal case and he had been using her to fish for information from her end.

Chong Wen was helping Lan He to defeat her brother and gain control of AES Group. In the process, they were laundering money. When Qian Wei found out about it, she advised him to do the right thing in Episode 31. Chong Wen then betrayed Lan He as he realized he needed to rediscover himself and his dignity. Lan He stabbed him and tossed him into the sea in Episode 34 but he was saved. Chong Wen and Lan He was subsequently sentenced to 1.5 years and 15 years in prison respectively. Yu Tian who was an accomplice was jailed for a year.

Side Couple

In Qian Wei’s dream, Shi Yun and Qian Chuan didn’t really get along at first. Shi Yun had a crush on Tang Lu while Qian Chuan liked Zi Xin. So, they cooperated to woo their respective target partner. Shi Yun confessed to Tang Lu in Episode 8 and they got together. But she was pretending to be gentle to obtain his fancy which wasn’t sustainable. Shi Yun bared her true personality to Tang Lu in Episode 13. He couldn’t accept her and they broke up in Episode 14.

Qian Chuan also confessed to Zi Xin in Episode 8 but got rejected. She told him that she was nursing a broken heart and has yet to heal. This was because she loved Lu Xun who had rejected her earlier. Nevertheless, Qian Chuan realized that they could only be friends in Episode 16 because of their different interests and personalities. Shi Yun was a better fit for him and he admitted that he missed her in Episode 22 and they got together in Episode 23.

When Qian Wei awakened from her coma, Shi Yun and Qian Chuan have yet to start dating. They only got together in Episode 28 and Qian Chuan assured Shi Yun that he was dating her with a view of marriage in Episode 30. He met her parents and received their blessings in Episode 32.

Legally Romance Review – Bickering, But Fun Couple

Basically, Legally Romance has 2 parts to it. The first which takes up about two-thirds of the drama features college life and romance. The second part which has about 10 episodes to it brings us to the working world and the continuation of the romance carried over from college days. Therefore, if you like youth dramas, this title has something interesting to offer. However, the switch back to the adult world may not appeal to everyone and it constitutes one-third of the drama unlike Memory Of Encaustic Tile whereby the grown-up years are condensed into fewer episodes towards the end. Hence, the second part of Legally Romance could be a letdown for some.

Personally, I don’t mind both parts as I think the story flows in a logical manner. Perhaps there should be more maturity in the romance and communication between the protagonists in the second part as they are now adults. For me, I’m okay with it as I would rather they maintain the same relationship dynamics for the couple throughout the drama.

Bickering From The Very Beginning

When the story begins, it may not appear appealing for a romance drama. The guy is a slavedriver who seems to find joy in making life hard for the girl as her boss. So, they are always bickering because she hates his attitude of lording over her and he tolerates her talking back at him. You will understand why the nature of their relationship is as such as you continue watching. They go back a long way to the days when they were course mates at university.

Thus, the bickering will seem very natural with a touch of fun and ribbing. I’m not really a fan of bickering couples and dramas like About Is Love S2 and Hello Mr. Gu aren’t up my alley. But the bickering couple in Legally Romance feels different from the usual. Their banter is harmless because that is how they usually communicate. At the same time, they appear lighthearted to the viewers rather than giving off a toxic vibe to the relationship. Simply put, they just seem silly and perfectly suited for each other.

Thus, you need to give the couple time to grow on you especially the male protagonist. You may not like him very much from the get-go and hope he changes his hairstyle, but he will show his caring side as the drama progresses to make you root for him.

Good Acting And Characters

I think both Huang Zi Tao and Song Zu Er did well to flesh out the characters that they are playing. Huang Zi Tao displays the right amount of arrogance and male pride in the character without overdoing it to cause annoyance to the viewers. I think this is basically how Lu Xun is in the story – smart, suave, and prideful. So, the actor managed to bring out the character’s traits and emotions in a persuasive manner.

This is the second time I’m watching Song Zu Er and it reminds me of her role in To Fly With You whereby she also portrayed a college student. In Legally Romance, I can detect a subtle change in the way she portrays Qian Wei as a college student and a lawyer. She did a good job to give us a feisty and fun character. The actress is also very expressive which suits Qian Wei’s personality very naturally.

Both of the leads enjoy rather good chemistry when put together. They have to be because their screen time together practically dominates the drama. To me, Song Zu Er matches well with Huang Zi Tao as a bickering couple. If you can feel the chemistry between them, then you would enjoy this drama because they drive the show together as a couple. But if you sense something is missing between them, then it would naturally be a bore.

Last Third Could Be Better

Legally Romance is cruising along smoothly until the last third of the drama whereby it falters a little to me. The plot execution could be better. The second half also features the business side of things. They are not detailed business or legal maneuverings but very much simplified to fit into the last 10 episodes. It is more about rediscovering and upholding the ideals of practicing law for the second male lead.

You can say that some of the happenings towards the end of the drama are unrealistic and nonsensical such as the female lead’s actions to invite death. Hence, the second part of the drama isn’t up to the mark in its execution compared to the first which is more moving and perfectly told. It is just a pity that the producers couldn’t maintain a good plot execution all the way to the end.

My Verdict – One Of The Better Ones

Legally Romance is one of the better Chinese romance dramas to come along in 2022. It has its special charm and charismatic leads. It couldn’t run away from cliches at times but the overall plot is interesting and the leads have a unique bickering relationship to provide the laughs. Basically, the drama’s success hinges on their performance and they did a respectable job to make viewers hooked to their interactions.

I feel that this title is a bit different from the other 2 recent romance dramas which are also highly rated, namely The Oath Of Love and Dine With Love. Those are more serious stories with matured relationships that are grounded in reality. Legally Romance has a tinge of fantasy to it with the protagonist having a chance to relive her past. So, if you like more realistic stories, this is not it.

On top of that, it is not a fluffy romance drama with overflowing sweetness either. The relationship dynamics of the couple doesn’t support that kind of diabetic induced reaction. However, the drama is hilarious and addictive in its own way. This is where its strength lies and the special charm of the main couple comes in. You watch this for them and their peculiar way of getting along which still emits the required love vibes to make it sufficiently romantic for the viewers.

For this Legally Romance review, I would give it a score of 7.5/10. As mentioned, the last third isn’t exactly great and the score reflects that weakness. Nevertheless, I still think this deserves your time. Watch a few episodes and see if you enjoy the couple’s special brand of communication. If you do, this could well be a gem for you. If not, then drop it because the couple basically drives the story. Hence, the whole drama will feel bland if you are not into them.